


The Child Of The Blue

by LadyTheWarrior



Category: Aquaman (2018), Aquaman (Comics), DCU
Genre: Abusive Parent, Angst, Angst and Feels, Arthur is an awesome big bro, Atlanna is an awesome mom, Brotherly Bonding, Character Study, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Father Figures, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, Maybe Love, Mera is sassy, Monsters, Motherhood, Multi, Orm deserves better, Orm is kinda right, Orm-centric, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-04 08:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17301251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTheWarrior/pseuds/LadyTheWarrior
Summary: In those last moments of being defeated by Arthur, Orm is visited by his long-lost mother, well and alive. Feeling both empty and lost as he gets imprisoned for his crimes, he has nothing to do but face his demons, visit back the suppressed memories of his childhood and explore his relationship with both his brother and the surface world. [Post-Movie]





	1. Prologue

_**Prologue** _

“That is enough killing!”

Orm was dreaming. It must have been a dream. Or was he dead? Has Arthur’s trident finally ripped out his throat and sent him to another world, where he could be visited by his mother again? But no… even if he was dead, Orm didn’t deserve to unite with Atlanna, if anything it must have been his father standing there before him, mad and disappointed as always, ready to berate him and call him weak and unworthy.

No… Shaking his head, he blinked. This was a dream then. He had a thousand of those before but in each and every one of them, he saw Atlanna leaving, not even looking back at him. Sometimes, Orm wondered to himself did she truly love him or did she only cared about her other son? the bastard on the surface, the one that was responsible for his mother's death? Oh for so long he hated the bastard yet now… it didn’t seem to matter that much to him anymore.

The delusion had to disappear into the thin air, the vision bound to fade away. Orm had to wake up and face the reality that he had lost to a surface-dweller, that he wasn’t worthy of his title and his father had never been so right about his weakness. But she was there. Atlanna, in her bright silver scale dress, walking out of the stormy ocean to the surface, walking to him gracefully like a true queen.

“Mother…” He called softly, for the first time after his mother’s banishment to the Trench allowing the false façade of coldness and anger to fall. He let himself be vulnerable again, still kneeling on the surface, reaching out for her, longing for her grasp. She was exactly the same, not even a day older, her blond hair dancing in the wind, her bright blue eyes similar to his, shining with unshed tears as she took his hands, kneeling and pulling him into a tight embrace.

“My son. “

Slowly, reality sank in as Orm lost himself in her scent. She smelt of home, his lost childhood day and a pure love he hadn’t had received for far too many years.

“I don’t understand,” he pulled away, still unable to let go, still unable to believe. “We thought…”

“I know.” she let a smile grace her lips, cupping his face, she felt warm, “Arthur saved me.”

Grief overtook Orm’s heart then, his chest tightened with sorrow with realization and suddenly he was a little boy again, tears threatening to spill from his blue eyes. He always feared his father’s wrath; never had he felt the need to hide away from his mother’s disappointment. But this time…

“You’re both my children and I love you so much but you were misguided, your father told you that there were two worlds but he was wrong… “He felt ashamed to look her in the eye. Her voice brought back so many memories that he had tried so much to forget, that Orvax tried to wipe away from his mind but they were all there, now lightening the darkness in his soul. “The land and the sea are one.”

 _Was it too late now?_ Orm had to ask himself. He would have apologized for forgetting this soft voice, this motherly touch, for letting his anger lead too many people to their demise in a battle that had no true victor. All for what? He would have also explained, for a greater good. For his home Atlantis, because Atlantis came before family and he would have killed his own brother for that but more than that because he was the reason his mother was taken her away from him in the first.

There were so many things he wanted to say but as Vulko walked with an army of Atlantean soldiers behind him, he knew that his time was due. The army in white knelt before their queen all around them as Orm watched in silence. It wasn’t a dream anymore. As bittersweet as it felt, it was real and deep down as he watched Arthur with Atlan’s golden trident in his grip standing there, he realized that he wasn’t angry anymore. Even though the half-breed was going to become a king now, even though he had lost both his trident and his title, he wasn’t mad or even depressed.

A part of him was happy, knowing that Atlanna was alive, a part of him, however, felt absolute… nothing and that was the part that scared him the most. He didn’t know what would become of him without that fiery feeling of anger that drove him to live, to train each day all to serve one purpose, to become a king. He had felt this emptiness before when he first learned about Atlanna's sacrifice to the Trench and it led him to the darkest of places.

“Take him but make sure he has the view.” Vulko’s voice brought him out of his trance as he glanced back, nodding knowingly. He wanted so badly to hate the traitor but now he didn't see a reason for that.  The soldiers surrendered him but he didn’t wait for the humiliation of being dragged back to the ocean. 

"When you're ready..." Arthur called, making Orm turn, his eyes serious and determined, "Let's talk." 

Orm didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge his older brother as he should. He would want to talk as well, there were so many things they had missed out. So many unanswered questions they hadn't discussed but did it even matter now? did he even want to bring up the past? Arthur was right, he wasn't ready yet. He needed the silence of a room, now perhaps a small cell that was going to keep him imprisoned for his crimes. But mostly he needed the time to gather his thoughts, he needed to remember and to be reminded of the things that he was urged to forget, to dismiss, to put aside as a prince-to-be-a-king. He had locked too many of those emotions away in a box, assuming that they would fade away in time and a large portion of them did go away but meeting Atlanna again broke that box into pieces and now he felt heavy, unfocused pain pressing on his chest and he needed time to sort it out.

Orm looked away, his eyes fixed on the strong tide waves. Standing straight, head held high, he took strong steps back to his home, where he would await his fate. 

For whatever it was he would take it with pride.


	2. Childhood memories- part 1

_The dark mass of the swirling water surrounded him as he dived deeper into the ocean, where the lost creatures of Trench inhabited._

Orm once had tried to go there in search of his mother. On the day before his twelfth birthday, when instead of receiving a gift from her like previous years, he was faced with the news of her banishment; he made a decision, one he truly hadn’t had the time to think over before putting it into action.

He didn’t know the reason but all he thought about was that they never even had a proper goodbye and he was furious at his father for that. King Orvax broke the news to him at the breakfast table casually, like he was merely talking about the weather.

“Where’s mother?” Orm finally asked when he saw no sight of her in the dining hall that day.

“The traitor was banished to the Trench at dawn for her betrayal and crimes against the laws of Atlantis.” Orvax responded reluctantly, “She’s no longer amongst us.” his voice held no emotion as he dug his fork into the plate of shellfish, chewing calmly while keeping his cold bright blue eyes fixed on Orm, waiting for a reaction, for any kind of emotion to seep out from him, any sign of weakness, like he was itching to see how the young boy would break from the news.  

Orm, however, did not move, didn’t even blink or breathe. He held it all in, both shocked and confused; he tried to think it over, afraid to ask again, to press it more. He knew his father and the variety of masks he wore, it fooled anyone into thinking that he was indeed reasonable and composed but gods knew he was none of that. One wrong look to his way and he would wreak havoc on everybody and everything. So Orm waited, not even looking at the stiff shape of the royal vizier Vulko, until his father finished his meal and stood up from the table.

“I leave you to Vulko for the training today, I have other matters to attend today. “ Orvax announced monotonously, “Tomorrow there will be a celebration for your 12th birthday, there’s a list of guests and politicians that are going to attend so do not exhaust yourself that much.” Not waiting for any response before turning away, his hands clasped on his back, as he swam out of the dining hall, leaving Orm, Vulko and few of the servants in the deadly silence of the room.

It was an unusual thing for Atlanteans to feel like choking under the water yet Orm felt like he was suffocating, his chest tightened as he tried to breathe, still seated at the table, he felt pain. Literal pain, physical pain piercing his heart and it got warmer and warmer by second like it was bleeding, _was he bleeding?_ He had to check twice, touching his chest, clutching at his robe but there was no penetration, no real wound, no blood, he was intact, _apparently only, apparently…_

“My prince—“ He looked up to see Vulko, not standing far away, trouble folding his brow, a mixture of concern and what Orm deduced as sadness perhaps coloring his pale face, he was his mother’s most trusted councilor after all but soon his face twisted into a grimace and he took a leap further to him like he was genuinely worried about his health but Orm was okay. Even though he was panting and clenching and unclenching his hands.

She must be in her chambers; she was there alright last night, when she read the last sentence of _Hamlet by the surface-dweller poet Shakespeare_ , reminding him over and over with a motherly scold that it wasn’t a children’s book but Orm wasn’t a child anymore, he now trained with men, great warriors and  he would best them all in every way, he could handle a tragic play like that and she would smile at that cuddling him further because, in his mother’s presence, Orm didn’t have to hide his true nature, he could love unconditionally and he could laugh with delight, he didn’t have to wear a mask.

Orm was certain she was still there, perhaps brushing her hair, braiding them like always, smiling into the mirror as he tip-toed into the room. He got up from the table, hands shaking, and eyes blurry and unfocused, breaths coming short and shallow, he had to go and find her and find that his father was only joking. But King Orvax never joked. It was a nightmare then, it had to be.

“My prince, are you feeling alright?” Vulko called uncertainly as he raised a hand to stop Vulko from coming closer, not able to say a word, even though he hadn’t eaten anything he felt like if he’d talk he would throw up. Then slowly backing up, lips pressed together into a thin line, frowning trying hard… oh trying so hard to keep the mask, to not look weak for his father had eyes and ears everywhere and he didn’t plan to get in trouble for showing emotion, not now.

He left the halls, swimming fast between the columns of the glassy palace, passing rooms and chambers, passing the counseling hall, not hesitating, entering the long corridors where her chambers supposed to be, staring at the white and gold adored doubled-door, still unable to breathe, still feeling like drowning as he came to a halt in front of her door. 

Heart beating fast. He looked around, no one was there. Not even a single servant as he knocked on the door.

One knock. No response. Two knocks. Still no answer, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten… it felt like it lasted for eternity as the knocks became harder, faster, more urgent with each passing second, still the door stayed closed and the room remained silent. It was a lie. It was a nightmare. Orm remembered her mother’s kiss the previous night, bidding him good night and… that was really it. Without any preparation or goodbye and _she was now just… gone._

Orm bit down his bottom lip; no… she was taken away from him. Swollen blue eyes now gazing at the closed door, his fingers clenched into a tight fist as he recalled his parents’ recent arguments that turned into ugly fights and left Orvax angrier and more unstable than before. Whatever they were, he was sure now that they were the cause of her exile. His cruel father finally did it, taking the one person he truly loved with his heart away from him. _Atlanna was never a traitor, what did she even do?_ She had dedicated all her life to Atlantis, this was simply a false accusation. Without any trial, his father surely had acted on pure sentiment and yes Orm had learned from _many fatherly encounters_ that how emotionally unstable and abusive that man was.

 He turned then, leaning against the door, still not crying, not even going to do so. He felt flames of fury burning inside his chest as he dashed to his own chambers. Careful, even in sadness not to be seen by anyone as he locked the doors behind and started to wear his armors, hopefully, his father had been considerate enough not to plan out anything for him today. Orvax had left him to Vulko and he had never done that before but Vulko of all people would understand he needed time for grief, of course, he did but he didn’t want to waste his time on that, being weak. He wasn’t and that was why he had decided to go after her. If she was exiled at dawn then he still had time, she was a strong woman, the strongest in all Atlantis and she surely had kept herself alive.

Picking up a couple of knives he had found months ago with Mera scavenging the old sunken ships, he stopped in his track, swallowing a knot in his throat, she had to be alive. Orm stood in front of a silver sword that was secured in a glass box on the top of his bed. It was a gift from his mother; the sword belonged to his grandfather, gifted to him a year ago. He never planned on using it then but now it was the only weapon he had if he wanted to wield something else he had to go to the armory and he didn’t want to raise suspicion by doing so.

He found himself now in front of a mirror in his silver and blue scale armor. Glassy blue eyes stared back at him, he looked the same and that was a good thing, that meant that he had finally mastered the stoic look of his father, to seem unfazed, emotionless and cold, it hid the storm inside well, it masked the feelings of vulnerability, of being lost and getting lonely, of a boy… who had just lost a mother by his own father’s hands. But no… Orm look at his own image, shaking his head, she wasn’t gone yet, she was in the Trench, _yes but still fighting, still believing to return to him… he was her only son, wasn’t he? He was the only one she had like he was the only one he ever had, right?_

Full of doubts, Orm knew he’d made his own mind as he sheathed the sword and secured the knives and swam to the doors, but before he could open them, a knock ceased him.

“Are you in there, your highness?” It was Vulko. _Damn it,_ Orm wasn’t planning to meet him too soon. Another knock followed. “Do you think perhaps you’d want to talk to someone?—” Orm’s hand gripped the hilt tightly, while his other, pressed the door unconsciously. He couldn’t believe his mother’s most trusted counselor had so little faith in her, thinking that she was truly dead, that her only son needed someone to comfort him for this new-found grief clutching at his heart. Orm was more furious than sorry or sad as the vizier continued, “Considering how close you were to your mother—“But his words soon hang in the water as Orm flung the door open.

Looking in the man’s dark eyes, he let a deep frown crawl on his young forehead. “I do not need nor want anyone to talk to, Vulko.” These were the first words he spoke that day, sounding confidence just like his father taught him to.

The vizier soon cast down his head in a low bow, “Of course but perhaps you should—“

“I’d like to train alone today.” He said it like he was stating a fact, rather than asking. Training alone meant going directly against the king’s wish but Orm was willing to take that much measure today.

Vulko blinked for a few times, his eyes still widened with confusion but the old man was good at keeping his composure “I was going to say that perhaps you should go easy today, your father specifically instructed that you don’t push yourself too much since tomorrow’s ceremony is going to be a huge one.”

_His mother was trapped in the gods-forsaken Trench and all the king thought about was the stupid ceremony?_ Orm had enough of this nonsense, pushing past Vulko yet swimming not too fast away from him. “The ceremony doesn’t matter to me, I am going to train today as much as I want and I don’t want any disturbance.” He uttered sternly, without so much as look over his shoulder.

“But what am I to tell your father, if you’re going to do as you please?”

“Tell him whatever you want.”

“He wouldn’t be too happy to hear that, your highness.”

Turning back to his Vulko’s cold but true words, Orm looked him in the eye as he raised his chin. “I don’t care.” That meant a death sentence for him if the king or any of his closer counselors were around but Orm honestly didn’t care. He had the right to be angry at the king and what if he’d beat him to death because of that? It only added more fuel to the bonfire in his soul.

Fortunately, Vulko didn’t say anything else, leaving him with his thoughts alone, as he swam outside the palace’s gates, supposedly doing his solo training today outside the fields.

_Orm couldn’t help but compare the darkness of the Trench with his own state of mind. Just like those monsters burning of the cold black water, his insides were in chaos. A mess. He hadn’t had found his mother. His shouts and screams not reaching anywhere. No one was here but the unknown bloodthirsty creatures and there were so many of them, and as painful and pathetic as it was, Orm couldn’t fool himself into thinking that he could defeat them all though at least one thought comforted him, he was going to die knowing he would see his mother again._

“What are you doing here?”

He had never been this jumpy then again he had never tried to sneak out of his kingdom before. The voice was snarky and feminine and Orm knew too damn well who it belonged to. _Great!_ He had sneaked passed the most intelligent and well-trained guards and soldiers without being noticed just to be caught by this nosy red-head. A flash of crimson passed before his eyes and from behind the wreckage of an old ship he saw her, _Mera._ _Had she been scavenging again?_

“I should ask you the same,” Orm responded reluctantly, he wasn’t in the mood today.

Princess Mera was the boldest and the most straightforward girl he knew in all the kingdom which of course sometimes was considered as being rude or inconsiderate but then again it wasn’t like that Orm knew too many girls, he only came to become close to her through his mother. She was the one who started to teach them both lessons of ancient books. It wasn’t that Orm liked Mera, he just didn’t despise her as much he thought he would. She never pretended to like Orm or act too formal around him too and perhaps that mutual feeling made them form some sort of a bond. She was obsessed with ancient artifacts and scavenging surface-dwellers interesting inventions both from the deepest parts of the ocean and close to the dry land and even though she had been confronted enormous times by her father, she never really stopped. Orm had always known that she was too stubborn and fierce to follow the rules that sometimes even made _him_ frustrated.

Mera only shrugged in response, fixing the bag on her shoulder. Orm could say that she had already squeezed a bunch of trash in there. “Not surprising for me to stray too far but for you on the other hand—” she said, swimming closer to him with her arms crossed over her chest as she noticed the weapons he carried. “Is there a war zone around here that I’m not aware of, your highness?”

 Orm would normally banter but his mind was too occupied right now, “I don’t suppose I should answer to you. “

“Well I don’t suppose you should either but— “she put her hands on her hip, pointing at his face lightly,” You don’t seem to be … very well. Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Flustered, Orm replied before turning his back to her again. “Now leave!”

“Well, gee! Aren’t you a little grumpy today?” She raised a red eyebrow, before clicking her tongue as she watched Orm leave, “hey wait up!” The blond boy let out a frustrated sigh, before turning. Mera smiled sheepishly as she scratched the bridge of her nose and pulled something out of her bag. It was a pearl necklace, nothing too valuable for the people of Atlantis but obviously something that she had found lost within the ocean.

“I was planning to give this to the Queen,” That perked Orm’s interest as he scooted closer,” She gave me some vague description of an ordinary pearl necklace made by a surface-dweller, something that belonged to her but she’d lost a long time ago, so I found this… I know it’s nothing special but I had to give it to her, I stopped by this morning but they told me that she was gone.” Orm’s eyes widened, looking back and forth between her green eyes and the necklace, but her curious eyes too were fixed on his face, searching curiously as he muttered the next words carefully, “Do you… happen to know… where she might be?”

No answer came, instead Orm’s eyes remained on the necklace, it was casually made by non-professional hands, nothing extraordinary, nothing befitting of a queen of course. Yet her mother had asked for it? Perhaps it wasn’t the necklace she sought, perhaps Mera was simply wrong but… _a necklace made by a surface-dweller nonetheless_ … the pieces were beginning to sit well with each other as Orm remembered his parents’ arguments,

_“ – you sold your Atlantean pride to a surface-dweller—having a bastard son with him—”_

_“—I love them—“_

_“—you treacherous whore!”_

“Orm! What’s wrong?” Mera’s voice felt like a slap to his face as he was dragged back to the reality. _No… it wasn’t true. His mother never had a family on the surface. It was just a made-up story by her. She loved stories, didn’t she? but was this why his father called her a traitor? All because of a surface-dweller? He had to find her; he had to ask her, himself. He had to know the truth, the reason why—_

“Orm, you’re shaking,” Mera said worriedly.

He swam backward, shaking his head. “I have to go,” he whispered, turning and swimming away.

“You do know the path you’re taking, ventures to the Trench?” He was too far now, deaf to her shouts as both horror and realization gingerly dawned on her. “ Oh, gods… no. “

 

to be continued... 


	3. In Prison : First Visitor

Stagnated water pooled around him in disgusting circles, judging him and whispering his echoing thoughts in the cruelest way. Sometimes, they were soothing just like his mother’s tone,

_You were only misguided, thinking war can solve anything but two wrongs don’t make a right._

_The loneliness you have been feeling your whole life is over, you have your whole family now beside you,_

_Accept your mistakes and learn from it, no one is without flaws—_

Other times they were mocking in his father’s voice,

_You’re a weak fool, who’d lost the mightiest trident, the trident of king Orvax, to a surface-dweller who had never even been to Atlantis yet alone wielding a trident,_

_You should have been killed in that field,_

_This is a disgrace; you are a stain on the house Marius’s name—_

It was as Vulko had always said and he loathed the man for that but his two very different sides were at war again. After his mother was sacrificed to the Trench, he was obliged to follow his father’s orders, slowly losing the sensible voice of the mother in his head, refusing to recall. Orvax’s voice was stronger, more demanding, more real and that was it took for Orm to be confident of his goals and the way he was going to achieve them. It was cold-hearted and made an inhumane despot out of him but all in good intentions. He had to remind himself, remind the shame that had washed him over the moment he saw his mother again, that he did what he did because he cared about Atlantis and its people and he didn’t want the surface world to destroy them as they were doing so with themselves.

Although comforting the voice of Atlanna in his head was still scolding. However his father… he was the devil himself. Never leaving him, not even in his death, constantly pushing him with this idea that he needs to prove himself that he is not as weak and sentimental as his mother and he is suited for being a leader but— who was he kidding? Even that half-breed, that product of two different worlds, had inherited all Atlanna’s flaws and the surface-dwellers' weaknesses and ended up wielding King Atlan’s trident and won the battle of the kings against him.

 _He even saved his mother._  

Orm thought sourly, perhaps lending his whole heart to loyalty to Atlantis and its people wasn’t enough. He knew that he would burn himself to ashes, selflessly for its sake, after all though… He looked around the glassy cage he was held imprisoned in, thinking perhaps it didn’t matter. Then again somehow he knew the reason why he was here, why he’d lost to a bastard brother. There was another side to Orm as well, the side that was so single-minded it blinded him, who was capable of whatever destruction or brutality would allow him to succeed in reaching his goal. And now there was no doubt as to which side of his nature had lost.  

He clenched his fist and stepped to the window glass and stared outside, looking back at his home, his palace, his Atlantis. Atlantis was a mixture of both beauty and ugliness. Orm knew better than anyone else, he was born here, lived his whole life in its cold and unforgiving waters. He knew behind the colorful lights that adorned the white walls of the palace, had always been blackness, loss, and misfortune. He hoped the new king soon learns about how things are done in these deep waters. He ought to know that you can't rule a kingdom and maintain peace and prosper with a big stupid grin on your face all the time, sometimes as a king, you have to take the darkest action, carry the burdens that no other can withstand, but a king must carry on for his people. He hoped _Arthur_ would learn sooner or else he would drag down not only himself but the whole Atlantis with him.

Orm was soon dragged out of his thoughts as he sensed a presence approaching. His abilities easily gave him the privilege of already knowing who was lurking behind his back. There weren’t many people who could sneak up on him. Funny how he always felt so proud for that yet he was still stabbed in the back—

“Orm…”

He didn’t want to turn around at the familiar feminine voice. He didn’t even want to acknowledge her. That Xebelian girl had lied to him and betrayed him and damned near got him killed. Now she had the audacity to come here and _for what?_ Things hadn’t really changed for her that much, she still was to be a queen, this time actually marrying to someone she apparently loved. It sickened him to the core. Not that Orm loved Mera or even looked at her any other way more than perhaps only an ex-friend but it still hurt his pride. That she thought that he had been easily tricked and played with. The last thing Orm wanted now was to look her in the eye or else he didn’t know what he’d do.

Mera drew in a breath, talking hesitantly yet with firmness “I came to speak with you,“ she paused and it lasted more than a few seconds in silence. No answer came as she sighed softly, “It was almost impossible to do so before, since you’ve always been busy.”

Orm clasped his hands behind his back tightly, gazing at the palace. His whole body got more tensed with each passing second, despite him trying to seem unaffected. She would eventually get tired and leave plus, princess or not she was too beneath her to expect an answer, explanation or apology, not after what she’d done. However the task appeared to be difficult as she continued talking. Orm had never admitted it to anyone, not even himself but he considered Mera as a friend, the only friend he’d ever had but of course he never let her know that, even back when they were children, when things were supposed to be simpler.

“Alright,” frustrated, Mera moved a little closer to the glassy door. She was still as stubborn as he’d known her to be, “You can sulk as much as you want Orm, but you know what? Not only it doesn’t fix anything, it’s childish! It’s not like I was dying to talk to you, especially after what you’ve done but Arthur’s changing things around here, he was actually the one who asked me to talk to you, for the sake of old days he thought you might still have the decency to at least be a little apologetic about what had happened.”

Orm couldn’t help the urge to scoff at the last bit of her long speech, _decency to be apologetic? What for? For being a good king to his people_? But Mera was keen enough to pick on that; now feeling offended, she held her chin high and her back straight as she stated blandly, “ You can’t insult me like that—“

 “Your very presence here is an insult to me, Mera!” Interrupting her, Orm finally looked over his shoulder, still not even flinching.

“Well if anyone’s going to be mad about the whole thing, it is me;” Retorted Mera exasperatingly,” you’ve tried to kill me!”

“Not before you betrayed me!” Orm didn’t intend to yell but he had lot of aggression pent-up on him,” What do you want me to say? I’ve lost everything. I’m sorry for not sounding apologetic enough, you’re highness.” He fumed, bowing his head sarcastically.

Seeing his anger, Mera took a step back. Not that she was afraid of him, she just didn’t want to be a reflection of his attitude, especially not when Arthur had asked him to just talk to Orm to bring him to his senses. “Not everything, can’t you see?” Mera asked gravely, ”You have your mother back.”

Surely, the sight of Atlanna was a like a bucket of cold water on the hot flames of Orm’s anger. But Mera could see that even the queen hadn't been able to extinguish the fire fully, it might’ve become less burning or harmful but it was still there, waiting for a fuel to burn out again.

The sides of Orm’s mouth turned upward into a sneer, in total contrast to his eyes that were damp and sorrowful, “Does it make any difference now?”

“Of course it does, Orm!” Mera tried to reason, remembering his pain from years ago when he lost his mother. Remembering the measures he took to get her back, that dangerous journey to the Trench that left the young Orm battered and broken. Mera knew for sure that something awful had happened in those dark waters, because the boy that came back was never the same again, “I can’t believe it. You always wanted this.”

“And what do you know about it?” He responded slyly and suddenly Mera realized that he might be right. All he knew of the Orm standing there were the fading memories of their childhood and that even was cut short by King Orvax. He was the one separating him from everyone, isolated the kind-hearted boy and suffocated the humanity within him.

“Your father made you a—“ She began but soon was cut off by Orm’s new-borne anger.

“ENOUGH!” Mera looked into his deep blue eyes that once promised friendliness and saw none of that. they were filled with abyss and for a second she shuddered to hold her gaze, “You do not get to take my father's name in vain.” His tone was threatening and it reminded her of the late king, how was Orm becoming his father? _The very man he feared and hated the most!_

“You know better than anyone what a monster he was!” and that was it, the cue for Orm to raise his voice again calling, “GAURDS!”

Mera could already hear them running to the glassy cell, she knew that if there wasn’t a barrier between them, he could, would definitely hurt her.

She shook her head, looking down the hall, “I’m sorry Orm for betraying you,” and that somehow caused the prince to relax a little but still on guard, “I truly am but I wouldn’t have let you commit a fratricide. Unlike you, Arthur’s forgiving and for some reason he believes in second chances.”

The silence that followed after was only disturbed by the clanking sound of the guards’ armors. The former king was still unable to tear his sharp eyes away from the princess; Frowning, he already knew what she meant. Arthur was different in so many ways and somehow the man felt proud being like that. Orm thought coldly, but no matter how much he tries, Atlantis would never accept a king like that, and not even Atlan’s golden trident can help. People never want an outsider as their leader.

“Atlantis is neither forgiving nor forgetting.” As the guards drew closer, he finally admitted.

“If you think that way then—” Mera took a final glance at the long corridor, uttering quietly,” –perhaps you should start worrying about yourself,” then turned around swiftly, her crimson hair burning like an angry frame in the dim light as she swam away, leaving Orm haunted by the ghosts of dead men and past memories.


	4. Childhood Memories- part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orm finds himself alone in the Trench.

 

He was lost. Here in the deepest part of the ocean, darkness crawled like a hungry monster, burying every living creature profoundly within its belly, not allowing a single one to escape. Orm knew he shouldn’t even be there in the first place. It was far past the border separating Atlantis from that of Trench, which he only knew through hearsay. There wasn’t exactly a map, not one that he was aware of, which would lead him to the ancient creatures. That was why taking in the sights of inky blackness, that not even his Atlantean eyes could get accustomed to, scared him. There was no way he could find a way back home like this, not that he cared at this point anyway, he was here, after all, might as well search for his mother before it got too late.

Probably swimming underneath the old city, in the frozen water, he couldn’t stop but to shiver at thought of the well-known legend of Karathen, a colossal sea creature which was the oldest but the most powerful being on earth. In the hidden sea, she was said to be the guardian beast of the ocean who would rise one day to signal Atlantis’s uprising from its watery exile. Of course, it was only a myth and Orm never even tended to believe the story that he’d read in the old literature but now that he was here, it was hard to dismiss it. He was also so tired; swimming for too many hours had caused his legs and arms to go limp, yes he had been trained for long hours almost every day but he wasn’t used to swimming like this, they mostly used underwater vehicles to move around. Too anxious and hurried, Orm cursed himself for not stealing one of those in the first place.

Now overwhelmed with both exhaustion and weakness, he felt stricken. Hopefully, the water around him was too still for him to be worried about the existence of danger nearby. He still though kept his silence even though it felt both irritating and deafening. To call out loud seemed to be more logical it was the only way to let his mother, if she was even there, know that he had come for her. It was then when he finally heard something.  

He stopped, holding in his breath, his heart suddenly picking up its pace thumping against his chest and in his ears. He closed his eyes, trying to focus and collecting his thoughts. He tightened his grasp around the hilt of the sword that was unsheathed way before he even got there. Listening carefully. Now he could really feel someone… something in his surroundings. Not too far, not too close either. The sound was similar to a female, a woman. Weeping piteously. his chest tightened at that. _Mother?_ The sound seemed to be coming from far away but the feeling of a presence was close, too close for his likings.

Slowly he opened his eyes, even though it didn’t make much of difference, considering the intense darkness but the shifting in the water in his surrounding definitely alarmed him. He tried to remain calm but the sound of whimpering peaked again, this time more heart-wrenching and louder. It was tempting, he really wanted to call out loud but also didn’t exactly want to give away his spot for whatever it was swimming in circles around him, didn’t feel friendly at all.

“Help…” the voice suddenly said, it was more like a whisper, weak and isolated but it echoed throughout the darkness. “Help me…” Orm looked around he couldn’t spot the source of the voice but he decided to swim anyway and as he advanced further the voice became clearer, along with the whimpering. Now it felt as if there were more people here as their voices blended together, all around him.

 _“…help us…”_ it came from his right, he stopped and looked, nothing. _“ pleaaaase…”_ This time it echoed from somewhere on his back _, ” we’ve been here for so long, “_ he turned to his left, it seemed as the voices carried through the water, like slow waves. Moving around him, sometimes too close, as he felt a tingling breath on his ear. It was confusing, almost like a dream. _No…_ Orm had to shake his head as he felt the coldness embracing his bare arms, _more like a nightmare_. Still though, somehow he knew as long as he kept quiet, the strange voices, whatever sorcery they were, couldn’t do him any physical harm.

As he swam gingerly through the water, almost hovering and letting the soft flow guide him, a high pitched scream rattled him suddenly. It sounded like it was coming from beneath him. He looked down, under his legs, it was all black then it came from above followed by a name, a name too familiar to his ears “ORM!” and that was his cue to finally respond, not really conscious what dangers lay ahead of him.

“MOTHER!” he called back and as he did so, thousands of glowing red globes started shining angrily at him. It felt as if the darkness was illuminated by them but as Orm brought up his sword, it was too late to realize they were eyes of a horde of creatures, surrounding him. Too close and too attached to his body to let him move freely, let alone wield a weapon to fight them.

The monsters snarled and they sounded as if they were laughing excitedly at him as he moved his sword, almost pointlessly, he was too tired to focus and too scared. There were too many of them and they seemed to not only physically claw him, tearing his body and his armor apart but they gnawed at his soul as well. Red water pooled around the young prince, if it was difficult to see before, it was much tougher to even feel with the blood that mixed with the water, going in and out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. He was too numb to even recognize the source of it all, was it his blood or theirs? He didn’t know as he aimlessly swung the blade, sometimes hitting something proved by a bellowing sound in pain from a monster he must have taken down, sometimes not really hitting anything. He felt dizzy, hearing them roar, the monsters with mouth dripping with blood, grunting as they advanced to him all at once.

There was no mercy in these waters. Orm was reminded by the stories he’d heard before. It was probably not a good time to be remembering them but he couldn’t stop his thoughts from reverting back to them. Lost creatures that were once actually comprehendible, advanced and capable of thought, they were trapped here. In this darkness that washed away the sanity, that probably explained the desperate screams and cries of help. Were they the lost souls, looking for help, seeking for livings to be reminded by life once more?

Orm screamed as he felt fangs trying to slice into his forearm and then a sharp pain engulfed his belly and he glanced down to see blood spreading into the water. His body started to shake violently after that, not really knowing how he lost his grip to the sword but he saw how the blade fell and was devoured by the red and black water. He tried to pull out one of the knives he’d brought with himself but he was too weak to throw it. In fact, he was too weak to even stand anymore.

The darkness had finally won. It was all too much for his young mind. His father had been right; he was too foolish to even come here. He ought to know, he couldn’t withstand these mindless creatures, with no plan or backup. But at least it wasn’t all in vain. In those last moments as the young prince finally gave up, he thought to himself that at least he could see his mother again, listen to her soothing voice, telling him stories. Stories that were mostly of the surface, of a forbidden love between two worlds, surface and the ocean, of a boy born out of that love who was bound to unite the two worlds when the right time comes.

And reminding all of that, whether truth or lie, reality or fantasy calmed the young boy, it wiped the pain away and let him lose his grip on life, stop fighting and let go and as he did so, he lost himself to oblivion. There was nothing after that but the gentle sound of his mother singing him a lullaby.

 

_Memories of withered dreams, illusions torn and gone_

_Remaining scars no one can see_

_This end of innocence and thought it made you strong_

_Your inner wounds, a part of me_

_I only wish to be the one you can rely on_

_Do you feel I care, care for all I have with you_

_When curtains fall and the lights begin to fade_

_There's only us and all masks are obsolete_

_You're still awake and I can sense a smile upon your face_

_So glad to have you by my side_

_Draw back my hand and let the night's relief enter its place_

_Close your eyes sleep well tonight_

_My love, feel safe tonight_

Somewhere in between awareness and unconsciousness, Orm found himself surrounded by misty shadows, they didn’t look like to be human or even Atlanteans but they were strong enough to pull him out of the darkness and drag him ashore. The sting of the wound in his stomach felt too numb now to make him uncomfortable but he still could feel a distant pain, too tired to stay awake, he soon drifted back to the land of dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics to the lullaby belongs to Xandria band a song named " Lullaby"  
> The title of the story is also inspired by one of their songs " Mermaids"


	5. In Prison : Second Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another visitor comes to talk to the former king.

A rare kind of magic rushed through the sea, through these waters around the borders of Atlantis. Orm sat on the bench in his cell and gazed outside the window. His mind agitated and his thoughts were disoriented. But above all, he was tired _no…_ he was exhausted as if he hadn’t had slept in a long time. The city was sprayed with bright colors and glittering lights. Everything reflected golden rays of hidden jewels buried within cracks of every building and structure. People, happy, motivated and peaceful went on about their daily routines, these people that once adored him as a ruler.  It was both a joyful and a sad sight to behold.

Orm just had to ask himself again, was the war really necessary? Or did he truly lack the confidence as a ruler that needed more titles, to become the _Ocean Master_? The word tasted bitter on his tongue. He couldn’t hide it anymore, not from himself anyway. It has been months since he had been imprisoned and now was the good time to admit to himself that he enjoyed the power he held within his grasp, even if it lasted for a little while. To lead a powerful army in the ocean and march into a battle against other kingdoms, so he can finally rule over all the seven seas was a prophecy written in the ancient books of the gods anyway, _wasn’t it?_ Poseidon once claimed that a child of Atlantis will someday rise to rule the seven kingdoms. He will fight his way to the surface and bring Atlantis back up to all its glory. But no, obviously the prophecy wasn’t about him. With what he’d done, his own people now hated him as much as other kingdoms despised him. A war-seeking maniac was his new title. _Congratulation, that escalated too quickly Orm!_

And Atlantis never forgets.

He winced as if a physical pain just shot through his body, squeezing his eyes shut. No matter how much of a fool this new king was, thinking he could change things around here; forgetting was not their way and they would push the half-breed, they would teach him the laws of the sea, the first and the utmost yet was that to execute the war criminal Orm Maruis and the king had to complete this task as the king to be accepted and praised.

Mera’s last words rang in his head, _perhaps you should start worrying about yourself._ But Orm was neither worried nor scared, he prepared himself for death the moment his father’s trident broke into pieces but he wasn’t a fool, he could only be saved once, there was no chance those lords and old politicians would let him get away easily.

 _Those traitors._ Once again, he felt the fire build up in him and his body tensed up as he saw from the corner of his eyes a dark silhouette standing near the cell. His breaths quickened and he literally had to fight within not to lash out at the old man outside.

“My prince,” Vulko’s voice was grim. He looked as if he had aged a century in just a few months since Orm’s reign fell.

But that even didn’t stop Orm from looking up, his lips forming a distasteful sneer. “Prince? Have you not followed the news yet, old man?” he spread his arms, arching his brows,” I’m merely a prisoner. “

“You’re still of royalty and that has not changed.” Vulko seemed unfazed, replying politely however stern.

“Then this is how you’ve learned to treat the royalty Vulko?” The old vizier with his calm mask irritated him and Orm was itching to break that mask, to make him show his true treacherous nature. ”This is what standing by my father as his most trusted vizier for years has taught you? To dishonor the royalty by putting them in a cage?” he spat the words venomously through gritted teeth.  

“Your actions put you here and you certainly cannot deny that,” he answered calmly as he held the former king’s gaze with unwavering eyes.

“My actions…” Orm repeated disdainfully. “My actions brought peace and prosper to my people, Atlantis was very well thriving—“

“Then what was the reason for declaring war against other kingdoms and the surface?”

The question caught him by surprise, his eyes temporarily widened but soon he mastered the look of seriousness by creasing his brows. Didn’t Vulko already know the reason why? Hasn’t the surface caused enough damage to their home? He needed the alliances of all the kingdoms to attack the surfaces and sink within his waves of fury, only to retaliate the pain they have caused him and his people for centuries. But he didn’t say any of that to Vulko. _Not again._

When he finally decided to speak the anger was once more hidden beneath the sarcasm and mockery. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. You’re a traitor after all.”  

Vulko swam closer; his hands clasped behind his back and when he spoke next it felt as if nothing had changed since the last time he’d spoken to Orm as the king showing that he respected the man before him, king or not. “My allegiance is to the throne my lord and I never betray it. The throne of Atlantis never belonged to your father. He only took it by manipulation and lie, forcing our Queen Atlanna of Atlan’s blood into a political marriage. Executing our queen,” He paused for what felt like an eternity whilst Orm stared into his dark eyes. He knew house Marius never had any claim to the throne of Atlantis, yet after Atlanna’s father passed away, she was to marry a man to be able to rule over the kingdom. Even Orm believed that Ancient laws were strongly conservative that never allowed an unmarried woman to sit on the throne. He didn’t say anything but when the old man finally spoke, his voice was grave and sad. “—yet I stood by him as you said for years, keeping my faith, believing in the throne and its one true heir.”

It struck a nerve the moment Vulko said that. _One true heir,_ he couldn't possibly be talking about. Now his knuckles white from his fists clenching too hard, he hissed dangerously, “The half-breed—“

“Arthur.” Vulko seemed to understand cutting Orm mid-sentence,” Now claimed as the King.”

It stung something in Orm’s chest, something he hadn’t felt before, it wasn’t anger, it was something more dangerous and poisonous and it burnt like acid all the inside of him. He tried to change the subject then, talking about Vulko’s so-called royalty to the throne. With a deep breath, he proclaimed calmly. “You hated my father, then.”

“Hate doesn’t define my duty. But I loved our queen like all the Atlanteans.”  

Swallowing a knot forming in his throat, Orm refused to sound weak, although the very next thing he said didn’t exhibit much confidence. “I was born of your queen.”

Vulko hesitated, studying the former king, before nodding in response. “You were and I promised to protect you as I did with Arthur. But your father took you away, isolated you from the rest of the people, your own people, and infected your heart and mind with hatred and jealousy to the surface world till your soul get dark so you forget the brightness of your mother. ”

With every passing second, Orm could see how anger oozed out of him like ink, leaving him with an empty vessel like the way he felt on their last fight with Arthur. And he didn’t want to feel that way anymore. Because it was more of a killer to him than any sword or trident cut through his heart could ever be.

He shook his head, lips pressed into a thin line before he spoke. “I never forgot her, “he paused, feeling relieved before raising his voice so that it would hide the slight shaking in it, “I did not want to fight the surface to fulfill my father’s wish. “

“But you did go exactly against what your mother had taught you.”

The silence that followed was neither pleasing nor unpleasant. However, it left Orm with a bittersweet feeling at the bottom of his stomach. He tried to smirk at Vulko’s words but he was too tired to act like he didn’t care. So in response, he only managed to hold his broad shoulder high and his chin even higher.

“Always the wise vizier, Vulko.” He said with a false smile.”Was I not a good king to you?”

“Only partially,” Answered Vulko honestly, “You followed your father’s path, ruling a reign of fear and dictatorship. Yes, no king is without his good deeds, building vast medical institutions and research centers, providing people with free medical care and prospering economic. However, in recent years all you thought about was expanding your political territory, ruling over the seven kingdoms and as you got more powerful you start to close your eyes to the corruption in the system. But power doesn’t corrupt my prince, fear of losing it does. That is why you hate me now, thinking I have betrayed you and caused you to lose everything even though none of it were truly yours to lose. “

The old man waited for his words to sink in. Orm didn’t have the desire to continue the conversation anymore but his eyes were still shining with curiosity. Vulko had almost forgotten how much of a good listener Orm really was and a fast learner too, way back when he was still young and kind-hearted.

“But having your mother back here, alive and well and a brother who is willing to fight with all his might against the four kingdoms’ counsel to save you from a death penalty is something that belongs to you and you alone.” Now Orm understood why the old man looked as if he had gone a lot older in just a small amount of time. There were dark circles around his eyes and he blinked tiredly as he spoke,” Yet you refuse to acknowledge them.”

Behind him, on the other side of the glass was the city he adored and love, the palace he lived his entire life in, memories that belonged to the past but if he looked closely lightened a path to the future, a future he never knew was an option. His father had planned for him his entire life, train, become a warrior, become a leader and a king. What he wanted next was to earn yet another title, added to the pile of names he was either given or earned. Perhaps Vulko was right, he spoke as his silent conscious now murmuring the truth into his ears, making him see. But it was too late now, wasn’t it? _and what if it was then?_

“I have gotten this far like this, haven’t I?” he asked rhetorically.  “I’m used to my father hate me only because I reminded him of my mother, used to my mother abandoning me, thinking of the only son she had on the surface with a lover,” for the first time in the last few minutes, Orm sounded sincere, in his own guilty hell of course, but he could always be a fine actor, playing his part well, “Being alone has worked out for me all this time. I am not bending the knee in front of your king only because he’s fighting—“ He paused, eyes cast down but when he finally looked up, his eyes possessed a dark glint, something that made Vulko take a few steps back. Orm scoffed, tilting his head to the side as he continued, “ –Out of concern for a woman’s sentiments.”

“You talk like Orvax.” Orm looked a lot more like Atlanna than Orvax but in that very second, it was as if the late king had come back to life again in a younger form.  They looked at each other for a long time, icy cold blue eyes boring into dark brown. As Vulko finally shook his head, “ Your pride will be the death of you my prince and there won't be anything any of us can do. “

He had come here to bring back the kind boy, Atlanna had left twenty years ago but it seemed there was nothing left of him in that man in the cell now and once again Vulko thought with a heavy heart that he had failed his queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing both Vulko and Orm is really hard. With young Orm, I feel like I'm more at liberty since there wasn't anything in the movie ( canon) but with the adult Orm it's really difficult because yet again the movie hasn't shown us many aspects of him but I really really like this character. So I tried to go and read his recent comics and I came across some interesting stuff and it turned out that Orm can actually be other than the all shouting, commanding, war maniac villain lol. He can be human and I have a soft spot for Villains that aren't entirely evil. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading.


	6. Childhood Memories- part 3

The warm sands were wet with the often ebb and flow of the ocean.

The young prince didn’t know where he was nor he really cared, the dying process was pleasant and he didn’t want to think twice about it. He remembered with a hazy mind how invisible hands had guided him through the black water and had pulled him up as the darkness diminished. In their embrace, he felt safe and free. He never had thought about it before but dying proved to be so easy. He didn’t have to worry about his father’s wrath; the king couldn’t punish or kill him when he was already dead. Besides, he could meet his mother; get to unite with her again

But then again, he didn’t feel much like being dead right now. He felt lightheaded and he assumed it was because of the weird substance surrounding him. It was dry and burned his lungs. Then It took him a moment to finally realize that this was no afterlife at all. His eyes shot open with panic as he started coughing violently, he turned to his side just to be met with the numb pain that has resurfaced as sharp and fresh and made him wince and vomit a mixture of blood and water.

“Come and look dad!”

He was stirred awake by the high-pitched scream that echoed in his ears. He looked up drowsily at the source. His eyes soon squeezing shut at the unnatural brightness. Not only he wasn’t dead, but he was also on the surface and he wasn’t alone. His heart started to beat like a drum against his ribcage as he brought his head down and started crawling backward. He didn’t know where he was going, it was hard to even know where he was when he wasn’t in the water but he thought perhaps this way he could go back to the ocean and hide within the waves.

The voice, however, didn’t cease. “ DAD!”

Orm winced again, it sure belonged to a small girl and it made his head throb even more. He knew he was doomed now. He had never even been to the surface and from the stories he’d heard, it wasn’t the safest place for Atlanteans and in the condition that he was in, fighting sure was out of the question, he couldn’t even protect himself so if the strangers really wanted they could easily take him down. At least in the water, he had a chance to float in the water and get away but here on the surface, he was strangely heavy and numb, as if piles of weights were pinning him down to the ground. He could hardly move.

“Get over here, dad! It’s a person! I swear! It’s a person and he’s moving.”

The pain intensified with every move and pull, Orm could feel how his stomach and kidneys protested as he took a deep breath but the air was still unfamiliar and he ended up coughing again. he turned on his back when he heard footsteps coming closer. He couldn't move anymore. Slowly, tilting his head to the side and opening his eyes again, this time careful and wary of the harsh sunlight. His head was spinning and he saw double but he still could manage to decipher two sets of legs. One small, like it belong to a child and another big and strong. Slowly he raised his head and blinked a few times as he finally locked eyes with them. A little girl, not much younger than Mera with blond curly hair and a man with dark hair and stubble were standing above his head, confusion coloring their similar features.

 “What happened to you kid?” he heard the man say but he couldn’t bring himself to answer, the rush of adrenaline already dying down in his veins as he felt his eyes rolling up into their sockets and the world faded into blackness once more. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Blackness had blocked his vision and he really couldn’t see or feel anything. In the water, it was easy to focus on the movement of the waves to find out about those surrounding him and their positions but up here in the air, he couldn’t even breathe properly let alone comprehend what was happing. Occasionally, however, he heard a conversation in the distant. Two people, a child, and a man were talking while something woofed in the background. The fear of the unknown had sat like a pillow over his mouth and nose. Enough air got by it, allowing his body to keep functioning, but it was crippling all the same. It didn't help that the painful wound had taken from him any freedom of movement. He couldn’t even open his eyes anymore.

_“Should we call an ambulance?”_

_“The closest hospital is about 200 miles away, Erin; I don’t think he can make it that far.”_

_“But…What happened to him, dad?”_

_“I have no idea, sweetheart.”_

Then their words fell into incomprehensible mumbles again that too slowly was devoured into an unpleasant silent and once again left Orm all alone.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He woke up from a dreamless sleep afterward with his stomach cramping with what felt like hunger and his throat dry and parched. His body was sore and a throbbing pain that ran through his head made it difficult to open his eyes. But with whatever energy that was left in his body he forced his eyes open and looked tiredly around. Now it didn’t feel like a dream anymore, he could see that he wasn’t in the water, seeing how dehydrated he felt, he was in a surface-dweller’s house.

At first, he started to panic again, his body curled up under what seemed to be a thick blanket as he clutched at his wound. Gingerly he looked at his stomach and saw how it was patched with a clean bandage. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth and he closed his eyes again, this time hearing the soft waves of the ocean, as they were calling to him. It relaxed the boy, knowing that he wasn’t that far away from home but then again— he opened his eyes again and looked at the small room he was in.

The weak golden light that came through the big windows brightened the room. It was furnished in bright colors, beige, green and blue and it was overstuffed with couches and chairs. The shelves on the walls were also filled with handmade crafts and books and there was a big aquarium next to it. Orm’s eyes, however, darted to the big ball of fur on the floor that snorted loudly. Cautiously, he cocked his head and narrowed his eyes, of course, he had read about different creatures on the surface that humans kept as pets but he had never seen one up close. It didn’t look to be threatening at all but it also never hurt to be careful around it.

He was still staring at the dog as a light noise pulled his attention away and he looked wearily at the small figure sleeping on the couch right opposite him. It was a girl, the girl, that he previously saw on the shore, she let out a soft snort and turned her back to him, blond locks covering her face. Were these people really dangerous?

He had to ask before trying to push himself up the sofa even though each movement sent excruciating pain coursing savagely through every fiber of his body. In the water, the salt would make him heal faster, if only he could get himself to the water fast enough, he could not only go back home but the wounds would hurt lesser as swimming itself didn’t take much afford.

So climbing off the sofa quietly, Orm resigned to the slow movements to cause much less noise as he walked through the house to the front door. Serenely, turning the doorknob, he had to stop and breathe into the ocean-breeze that surged through the land. The wind caressed his hair, touched his cheeks and as if hypnotized took him by the hand and guided him to where the water met the land. Forgetting about the painful wound in his stomach and his side, Orm ran into the beach but soon stopped himself as the water hit his toes. He looked at the horizon as the sun was rising over the water. looking over the vastness, of course, calmed his mind and his body but at the same time he felt a pang of emotion in his chest. He had never seen a sight so beautiful, never even gazed at the sky and the glowing globe, shining so very closely. Mellow blues and pinks blurred together in a silver mist to create an earthly scene. Even when the world was drowning in grief, Orm thought with a tightened chest, the sky remained a mysteriously forgiving. Looking at the ocean he could understand now. no matter how vast it truly was, it wasn’t able to absorb the bright sparks of the sun. Perhaps that why it was so cold and unforgiving.

Without taking his eyes off the scenery, Orm stepped through the water as it touched and engulfed his wounds all along feeling something more than a physical pain surging through his soul with every expelled breath, reaching higher peaks with seconds, never sufficiently soothing by his long intakes of damp air. Then it happened, what he couldn't bring himself to do when he was at the palace. When he first heard of his mother's execution.

Tears began to spill from his helpless eyes for the first time onto the salty water, mixing, vanishing, as if they were never even existed. He was lost, beaten and disappointed to even find a sign of his mother. Now amongst strangers, he was ashamed of himself for feeling envious towards their warmth, their sun and the way they could feel their tears. The tears tasted different than the ocean and they were relieving, production of heartbreak and the numbness of a lost soul. They flowed to his cheeks, the shear nothingness that now held of his soul threatened, like the water, to engulf him entirely. It was a good thing that water always cradled him even when his legs buckled and he couldn’t hold himself up anymore.

 He was sure that life still continued without his mother but at least he deserved a goodbye, didn’t he? Was it wrong of him not wanting to go back home now? A home that held a grudge like a spear tight in his hands, not ever letting go.

By then the water had enveloped him as closely as his own skin. Every sore stung with the salt being washed in but he knew it would stop the infection. He winced as it swirled without mercy, penetrating to the cells that should be protected by smooth skin but lay open and raw. But it was only temporary as the pain finally ebbed and he enjoyed the weightlessness again.

“Hey!”

Orm turned suddenly at the sound, looking incredulously at the girl that stood above him on a dark rock. The golden ball of fur next to her, with its tongue hanging out of its wide mouth gazing curiously at him, woofing.

“I…I don’t think you should have moved,” She tilted her head much to her curiousness, ”You were injured badly.”

For the first time in that few moments, Orm was thankful that the water had hid his tears well. He didn’t want this stranger to see any sign of weakness but since they had helped him, he didn’t want to sound rude either. “The water helps me heal faster, it’s fine.”

“Wh-wha—how— “ The girl only shook her head, her bewilderment apparent in her glowing blue eyes as she held a finger to her lips and bent a little closer, “Wait a second, aren’t you a mermaid, are you?”

Orm didn’t know what a mermaid was but he sure knew that he wasn’t that. His brow creased a little at her question and he came out of the water up to the torso and stared back at the girl. “A what?”

“A mermaid—“ the girl repeated and when she realized he didn’t seem to have any idea what she was saying, shook her head again, causing her blond locks to frame her chubby face, “Never mind, you don’t look like to be from around here though. “

“I’m from Atlantis.” Orm answered proudly.

“Atlantis?” the girl asked again, eyes widened with excitement now,” As in lost city under the water Atlantis?” Orm nodded slowly, studying the girl’s reaction. He never thought surface-dwellers could be this for the lack of the better word, ignorant but he wasn’t going to make a comment on that, “You’re not joking, are you?” the girl jumped up, now a big grin plastering her pale face. 

“Why would I joke?” the young prince raised his eyebrows genuinely.

“I don’t know, isn’t it supposed to be a myth?” This made him frown but the girl looked as if she finally understood as she raised her hands in surrender and smiled sheepishly, “ Sorry no offense but… it’s just… uh… my dad was obsessed with it for a long time, everybody thought he was crazy. “

“We are real.” He reassured her.

“Well no shit Sherlock,” She laughed whole-heartedly but bit her bottom lip immediately,” Sorry… anyway you must be hungry, you’ve been asleep for three days.”

“Three days…” Orm couldn’t believe he had missed his birthday, not that he cared about it anyway but his father did and he knew he sure was furious now. He thought for a moment he had two choices, go back into the ocean find his way back to Atlantis and face his father unforgiving wrath or—

But he didn’t want to go back. If his father was furious then so be it, he was angry as well and staying on the surface with all its strangeness was still safer than meeting king Orvax in his fury. It wasn’t as if he would have chosen to stay on the dry land forever, he would eventually go back but not now.

He looked up at the girl, knowing how his empty stomach was growling in protest. He answered calmly “I am hungry.”

“Okay then.” She nodded, holding out her hand for him to take while smiling cheekily,” My name’s Erin by the way," then she jerked her head at the dog, " And this is Maxine," what’s yours?”

Orm's eyes shifted from the dog to stare at Erin's hand for a while, then as he finally grasped her warm fingers, he replied, “Orm.”

“Nice to meet you Orm and welcome to the surface. “

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay AO3 isn't very kind to me at the moment, I had a really long note to add at the end of this chapter but it keeps freezing on me.  
> So long story short, I changed some stuff from the comics and put them in this story like the fact that Orm met Erin as a child and they became friends instead of what originally happened in the comics where Orm saves Erin and her son and then they fall in love. But that doesn't mean that they won't meet as adults, it eventually happens because I like them and their relationship and I think this fits in with both the movie and my story. So yeah... that's that. 
> 
> Also next chapter, we continue with Orm's visitors cuz he's still in the cell and there are still people left to visit him. I don't tell you who will visit him next though, you're gonna have to wait. 
> 
> Also I wanted to thank everybody for their comments, kudos and subscription,  
> You're awesome guys  
> and I hope you enjoyed 
> 
> cheers,  
> Bella


	7. In Prison : Third Visitor

Being imprisoned, all alone in a small cell for months had its effects. Orm was slowly learning the point of it, of course, there was still a trial yet to come in the meantime, however, this was the suitable punishment for a war criminal, worse than being decapitated in a warzone or... _in a fair fight with a half-breed bastard brother._

And no matter how much he fought it, the former king couldn’t get away from the thoughts and memories that slowly crawled back into his mind, reminding him and making him feel guilty. Before this, he rarely had time to himself to think about his emotions, let alone his past. Emotion, he thought sourly was a sign of a warrior’s weakness. He believed that it would show the opponent a window to the soul of the emotionally afflicted. Then it would give them a chance to attack harder, to break and wound more efficiently. It was for this reason that he deliberately put on the façade of being an uncaring man with the emotional value of a statue.

And it had been difficult, at least at first. He started using this more often after he learned about his mother’s execution and was brought back home by force, by then he only wanted to get away from his father’s wrath and so what began as an act of survival, started to root in his heart to the point that it was hard to look anything other than a heartless man. And although it had its perks, there was always the hidden feeling of disgust and disappointment in Orm’s heart that shouted at him poisonously that you have become the very thing you hated the most.

People didn’t know, Orm made sure of that, that even Orvax’s closest counselors would never realize how much the young prince despised his own father. He respected the king, did everything exactly the way he was told but deep inside, he couldn’t help but resent the man that in a way, had murdered his mother. But this lack of knowledge in the future days, after Orvax’s death and Orm’s enthronement, started to show and affect his rule. They thought that the hatred Orm felt towards the surface was the result of his father’s beliefs or because the young king blamed the surface for his mother’s death _but…_ none of them were true.

Orm ran a hand through his immaculate blond hair and started pacing the length of his cell. Recalling the last time _and the only time_ he’d ever been to the surface. The worst thing about the memory was that the family he met on the surface were nothing but kind to him, tending to his wounds when he thought he was dying, feeding him, caring for him, even if it only lasted for a couple of days. He scoffed at that, suddenly glaring at his own reflection in the glass of a window that separated him from his home. He gazed at his own eyes, _did these really belong to that boy from all those years ago?_ They were dark and angry but if he looked closely he could spy traces of sadness, disappointment and … exhaustion. 

Arthur surely thought, Orm didn’t have the slightest clue about the surface and its people, but he would never know how Orm once on the surface wanted so badly to find him and run away with him from his own father. He wasn’t going to tell Arthur that though, things were different now from before, he wasn’t the naïve boy he used to be, the boy that Mera and Vulko seemed to be so eager to have back again.

 But that didn’t mean he was Orvax either.

 It was foolish to think that he would follow the mad king’s footsteps blindly, in time however he slowly learned from the man and witnessed with his own eyes that how children of Atlantis were dying from the poisoned water that was caused by the surface-dwellers chemicals and their atomic garbage. And when he became king the weight of that responsibility burdened him gravely. He needed to do something to protect his people and at that time, war seemed to be the only logical answer.

Or thinking back to all the suppressed memories of his short time on the surface with  _Shaw family_ — perhaps years of acting as his father’s obedient son had finally got into him, making him feel and think the same way as the man. Making him hate the half-brother and the surface altogether, blaming them for the pain that had befallen him and his kingdom.

His eyes left the reflection and wandered around the small room, or maybe it was only these walls, echoing the words of those traitors in his head and forcing him to admit to things he didn’t truly believe were wrong.

“ _You’re still awake and I can feel the tears dryin’ on your skin_ ,” The humming sound from behind took him by surprise. Orm turned and watched his mother standing next to the door but unlike his other visitors, inside the cell, singing lovingly, ” _I touch your hands and kiss them up to make you feel I’m here/ just to hold you through the night._ ”

The melody felt like a wrecking ball, destroying all the barriers he had built up ever so carefully to stop the rush of emotions that came with remembering his childhood memories. Atlanna had a strong and beautiful voice and she used to sing around the palace all the time and despite Orvax’s harsh and brutal demeanor, she would never stop singing. She sang when she was happy, sad or just when she felt out of this world. Orm thought sorely,  _mostly out of their world._

“I remember this song. “ He didn’t want to sound so cold, especially not after he’d heard her sing like that in a long time. But he couldn’t help it, his heart was conflicted with so many feelings that he couldn’t even decipher.

Atlanna didn’t seem to be bothered by the blunt tone in his voice, because she swam closer, clasping her hands together in front of her silver gown and smiled, “I used to sing to you every night when you wouldn’t stop crying.” Her blue eyes glowing intensely as she spoke with passion,” It always soothed you, made you sleep in an instant, which was a miracle to me since you weren’t exactly the quietest baby in the whole kingdom.”

Orm could see how his mother’s face lit up with delight at recalling that fragment of memory. But he couldn’t feel any of that joy. It only sounded like one of those fictional stories his mother seemed to always love so much. His reality was much darker than her fantasies and he was too bitter to share a sweet moment with her.  “Why are you here, Mother?”

Atlanna didn’t seem to expect it as her eyes slightly widened in shock but it soon wore off, she was still a queen, after all, practiced in the same way as all the other royalties, she too had learned how to conceal her emotions when it was deemed necessary. 

“I came to see you of course.” She said firmly.

“What’s here to behold?” Orm’s taunting tone wiped the fading smile off her face, her brow creased as the young man started smiling wryly,” You must have mistaken the room, the son you’re yearning to see is the one on the throne,” he raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly,”— the one who holds the Dead King’s golden trident, not me.”

He watched Atlanna’s face carefully, how her expression suddenly morphed into a painful grimace like, she had just been hurt physically. Her long delicate fingers clutched at her gown as she swallowed a knot in her throat. Her voice utterly in contrast with what she had been trying to manifest seconds before.

“You’re being very cruel to your mother, Orm. “

 _Perhaps the words were chosen harshly,_ Orm thought.  He had always been careful of the way he spoke because as a king that was yet another duty he had to uphold but what of now? He was nothing. Also, the hot flames of anger within his soul didn’t seem to want to wait any longer to burn and devour everything and everyone on their way.

“I am not cruel just stating the fact.” His eyes were sharp and unforgiving as he said blandly,” I haven’t exactly made you proud now, have I?”

Atlanna raised her hand to calm his son like she used when he was only a babe. “You were only misguided—“

“Stop saying that like I’m a child!” snarled Orm at the water that was blocking his lungs, in a loud coarse voice, that did shatter the dense atmosphere around them but along with his breath too.  _But he was desperate, couldn’t she see?_ ” I was very well aware of my actions…and I do not _regret_ any of them.”

 _Regret was a strong word. Followed by guilt, fear…loneliness._ Orm stared at her like she had been the reason for all the misery in his life. Little did she knew, people tend to hurt those they loved the most, more. 

“Is that true?” Atlanna went stiff in her position. Eyes that had been indignant a moment before turned expressionless. When she spoke her voice expressionless too, very slow and plain. “The boy I have left behind never would have said such a thing; he believed that any peace would be much more beneficial to our nation than the continuance of war. “

“It was you who believed in such a thing and I was only naïve.” He said with a surge of emotions, suddenly feeling the lump in his throat grew big and intolerable. “ Mother you have been gone for far too long.”

“Twenty years…” She trailed off, words hanging in the air as Orm grasped at them carelessly.

 “Twenty years is a lifetime,” He completed her sentence unfairly, shaking his head like he wanted to shake off a bad thought or a distasteful imagination, “ I am not that boy you used to know anymore.”

But Atlanna had other plans, her eyes distant and filled with unshed tears. She blinked and they floated in the water, gone with it without a trace. “Twenty years of living with that man… “

“This has nothing to do with my father!” Orm managed to choke. His voice held a frustration she was perfectly familiar with.

“Orvax was many things but a father.” She replied, fingers now digging into the fine fabric of her dress,” He was a fierce warrior and a brave commander who trained soldiers but… never… _never_ was he a good husband or a father—“ Orm knew very well, her mother with all her flaws was a still strong woman, strongest in the whole Atlantis, yet her voice was shaking with so much hatred and bitterness towards that man. “He did not know how to raise a child. I should have known better than to leave you alone with him. “

“Then why did you do it?” his voice cracked and he hated himself for that,” Why did you leave?”

It took her moment to reply. Of course, they both knew the reason very well still though Atlanna nodded, her eyes showing factual torture. “He forced me to. “

“But you could have fought. You could have fought for me. “ He paused and blue eye locked with each other as the young former king of Atlantis clenched his jaw, a flash of something dark passing through his face,  “ Or were you only thinking about your infidelity and that mongrel—”

Orm’s gasp escaped him loudly as Atlanna’s hand flew across her son’s face, slapping it with an abrasion— that seemed to be coming straight from her heart— and anger so powerful it was scarcely recognizable as a slap. It was much more than that.

It wasn’t the first time Orm had received such treatment from a parent. Orvax surely had his ways with him, at times even creative with his physical punishments. But this… as far as he could remember, this was the first time—the first time _ever_  his mother had slapped him.

 “Don’t you dare, Orm.” She whispered in a low voice, that was shaking hard with a wound so painful Orm could feel it radiating. " I raised you better than this!"

His face was still thrown in the direction of his left shoulder as his eyes turned to stare at her, the cold, emotionless façade once again slipping back on his features.  “But it’s true, isn’t it? You never really cared about us. You hated Orvax, never really wanted to marry him in the first place. “

Atlanna stared at him for a long time, evidently hurt but as she finally spoke up, she sounded more confident than ever, “Of course I didn’t but things changed when I had you.”

“I was the product of duty—“ His eyes hardened as he finally managed to stand straight, shoulders pushed back, as he raised his chin, ” please enlighten me mother, how can you love such a thing.”

“You are not a thing, you’re my son.” Her face softened as she stumbled closer to hold his hands but Orm took a step back out of her reach and she stopped trying, she paused then let out a deep sigh, “I love you no matter who your father is. I wanted you and Arthur to meet. So you two wouldn’t feel so alone. I never wanted this for any of you.” She paused, closing her eyes, “ He’s your brother Orm and he’s in talks with other kingdoms as of now, to prevent another execution in our family. “

Silence fell. It plunged down on them in a greatly intense heaviness that Atlanna never expected. But the heaviness drew a pain, a pain that stung more than the slap on Orm’s face and the unkind words from earlier that had pierced Atlanna’s heart.

“I don’t want it.” He said, at last, his voice hoarse and tired as he looked up this time wearing a different look. Atlanna gazed in wonder as she saw her little boy in front of herself, lost in the world of cruel men. “ I followed you too mother. When I heard the news about your exile, I came to the Trench.” Her breath hitched and a small sob escaped her mouth as Orm continued. “I came to save you. But I was weak. I couldn’t. And now Arthur had saved you. He brought you back and I am forever grateful of him for that.” his voice trembled so much he had to stop and stare at the empty space for a moment, clearing his throat but when his eyes were pulled back to Atlanna’s once more, they were hard and determined, ” But I don’t want his pitty anymore. “

Atlanna shook her head disapprovingly, not believing what she had just heard. “Don’t say that. Arthur’s your brother and he won’t stop fighting for you.  The trial is in a few days; Arthur will meet you before that.  If only the Fisherman princess agrees to our propositions, we believe there still will be hope.”

“I wish it wasn’t like this. “ Orm turned his eyes down, he couldn’t bear to meet his mother’s hopeful eyes anymore. It was all too much, he wasn’t ready for this, to have her back, not like this at least.

Atlanna was quick to cup his face with both hands, making him look into her eyes, letting him know that everything was going to be okay. _She had always been wishful like that._ “It could be different, we can be a family again.”

And it was in that moment that Orm suddenly realized…

He realized, with tribulation, what he wanted right now, when someone who could actually feel his pain was right there, with him.

He wanted to fall into his mother’s embrace, and maybe just her arms tightening around him, and he would feel the warmth he was dying to feel. And then he wanted to shriek and scream, cry like a child. He wanted to jet out the misery blocked in him, and his blood and his veins pounding aloud with the weight of pain of it all. And he wanted so dreadfully wanted to tell her how sorry he really was.

“I missed you,” the next words came out weaker than he intended to, he didn’t have the chance to tell her earlier, he was too shocked, too angry, too tired to see how it was true. Her concern was the only thing that augmented the fantasy of going back to a childhood he missed so dearly. “ I’m sorry mother, I’m sorry for everything.” He finally closed the space between them and hugged her tightly, reluctant to let go,” This time I make sure to farewell you properly.” He whispered, hiding his face in her long blond hair, breathing into her familiar scent.  

“No Orm, you’re not going to die! I won’t let that—“

“Please…” He interrupted her, pulling away after a full minute to grasp her slim arms firmly, “On the day of trial, accept whatever they decide and be sure that I’m not scared. I’m only glad that I have you back again, even if it's short-lived.”

She didn’t say anything after that and he was thankful for both her silence and the salty water around them, it hid his tears not allowing his mother to notice how frightened he really was, how small he felt not because he was about to stare in the face of death for the thousandth time in his life but for losing her again so soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went out of my league updating so soon. But I already had half of this chapter written so I thought what the heck.  
> Sorry not sorry about how Orm was such a softie in this chapter, mama Atlanna sure knows how to tame her baby. 
> 
> Thanks again for all the comments and kudos,  
> you guys motivate me!
> 
> PS. it's after midnight where I am, sorry for the typos!
> 
> PS 2: What Atlanna is singing is another part of "Lullaby" by Xandria band which I am in love with.  
> Also Atlanna has a beautiful voice so does Orm, and no one can tell me otherwise! We'll get to the part where Orm sings too in future chapters because WHY THE HECK NOT!


	8. Childhood Memories- part 4

_Richard Shaw_ was a disheveled man, middle-aged with his hair a tangled dark mess framing his stubbly pale face. Orm observed the round glasses on the bridge of his smooth nose, threatening to fall every now and then as he pushed them back up in its place. He wore light thin fabric as clothes, nothing Orm had ever seen before. That prompted him to look at the clothes he was currently wearing. They wear more similar to the ones the girl was wearing, having the same quality nevertheless. He borrowed them from Erin the moment they came back inside since his was soaking wet and although he didn’t mind the water drops against his skin, he supposed the surface-dwellers didn’t exactly appreciate the wetness on their furniture or their floors. _A pair of t-shirt and shorts,_ she said. Even though they were easy to move in and he didn’t mind the light purple color, Orm felt particularly insecure in them. What if anybody tried to attack him? The thin fabric didn’t seem like to be able to protect him against harm.

“Magnificent!” Orm didn’t jump from the man’s sudden exclamation but it definitely raised his suspicion as he stared up at the man who was pacing around the small living room.

The moment they introduce themselves to each other and Orm said that he was indeed from the supposed lost city, Atlantis, the man went completely frenzied. His eyes wide and his mouth agape, he went on ranting about his beliefs and researches and the books he had written. Orm didn’t know if it was normal for the people of the surface to feel that surprised only by knowing that Atlantis existed or it was just this man. He took a quick glance at Erin, judging by her calm expression, he confirmed his guesses.

“Truly unbelievable… but not for me. no… no I always believed Atlantis existed, at least some of the stories I heard were true. How can they be all lies when different people from different parts of our world, told basically the same tale? One storyteller couldn’t know about the other’s own personal experience on the opposite side of the world. Could they?”

Orm didn’t reply but he deduced the man wasn’t really expecting him to reply, he sat at the table, rubbing his face, his blue eyes never once leaving the young prince. “This one I heard from an Old Italian sailor in an asylum—“

“ An insane asylum, dad.” Orm watched Erin pointing out cheekily but her expression soon fell as Richard’s serious eyes shifted to her.

“But you don’t know that, do you, Erin?” He said coldly. Erin that was obviously taken aback by her dad’s blunt response opened her mouth to say something but soon decided against it, which gave the older man another opportunity to speak again. “He’d definitely seen something, ask our guest here if you don’t believe me,“ Erin’s eyes slowly shifted to Orm who was sitting next to her, gulping as Richard continued.

“This guy, he was… around sixty something years old when I met him and he ranted and raved about a vicious monster he encountered on one of his sails across the black sea twenty years ago when the water suddenly became stormy and large bubbles started to appear, they saw a monster then with fangs and claws,” His eyes darted to Erin, a half bitter smile forming on his lips as if he was ashamed or embarrassed, he shook his head and then with a sincere tone he said, “ I never told you this sweetie… but the old man… he…uh…he described in details how the monster tore his friends’ throats out and slashed one of his buddy’s belly open, his guts fell al out on this man’s feet,”

Orm’s eyes widened at the story, his brows furrowed as he glanced at the blond girl who had covered her mouth in disgust. The young prince knew what the man was talking about, remembering the bitter taste of copper at the back of his throat when the creature attacked and pierced his belly and side with claws as sharp as a trident. Hadn’t he been an Atlantean, the monster could easily slaughter him within seconds.

Richard didn’t seem to have noticed his daughter's reaction, he was completely rapt with the story he was telling, his mouth open and his eyebrows raised exaggeratedly. “When he was telling the part about the guts, he looked down at his boots and seemed to see it again. Yelling and screaming, the nurses took him out and injected him with some kind of a sedative in his arm. “ He paused, suddenly getting up as if remembering something, “Here, I have them all written in my notebook!” he shouted, disappearing into a small room quickly and emerging out with a thick notebook in his hands. “ All the signs and the… the coordinates… the myths I’ve heard… the stories from years and years of interviewing with old sailors and the navy, they are all here.”

Orm didn’t know what he was talking about but in his eyes, Richard sounded like a madman talking in riddles. He opened the notebook but before having a chance to say anything, Erin got up, pulling the notebook to have a better look at it. “Oh my gosh dad… I can’t believe it… “ She flipped page after page which gave Orm an opportunity to look at it too. The signs of Atlantis Kingdom along with the other six kingdoms were drawn in croaked lines into the notebook, on the side of each, some notes written in small and illegible handwriting. “ You told me you stopped obsessing…” Erin let out a disappointed sigh, biting her quivering bottom lip, “You never stopped, “

“Erin… sweetie, I’m sorry…” Richard raised his arms to touch his daughter’s arms but she pulled back and the man dropped them at his sighs, casting down his head, “I couldn’t, those… those scientists and professors never even gave me a chance, they called me insane and threw me out! “ He paused, looking at Orm like he was an extraordinary gem, his lips stretched across his face in a form of a smile even though his eyes were all watery, “This young Atlantean here is the proof of all my theories and hypothesis—“

“Stop it dad!” She slammed her hands on the table so hard that Orm’s glass of water fell and emptied out all the water, she took a worried look at Orm, slowly sitting back down and trying to offer a half smile, “I’m sorry if my dad is acting like you’re an Alien from E.T. “

Orm had no idea what an E.T. was, but he appreciated the kind gesture. Twelve years at his father’s presence had made a statue out of the boy, he didn’t show but he definitely felt uneasy about the way that man was talking about him or Atlantis. He wondered if his father’s had been right, even the very knowledge of  Atlantis existence was beyond a surface-dweller's brain.

“Yes, I’m… so sorry,” the older man smiled sheepishly, “ I never wanted to make you uncomfortable.”

“I don’t deny the reality of the story you just said,” Orm replied cautiously, he wasn’t sure if he could actually talk about it, it was considered as treason to provide foreigners with any sort of information about the underwater kingdoms. But they had already encountered the Trench creatures, so it was harmless, _right?_

“You mean the monster was real?” Erin was the one to ask, her blue eyes widening in surprise.

“Yes.” Orm nodded,”But it wasn’t an Atlantean, we are no monsters.” Somehow Orm understood how confused surface-dwellers must have been about Atlantis and its history. They were after all way more under-advanced than them, their knowledge too limited and small. “The madman must have encountered one of the Trench creatures.”

“Trench?” Erin and her father asked simultaneously. 

“It’s one of the lost kingdoms. “ Orm explained, remembering what he had learned from Vulko, “They were once Atlanteans, centuries before when Atlantis was still a high-advanced technological city on the surface but as it sank deep into the ocean, some parts of it evolved and people gained the ability of breathing underwater, others regressed. They became savages, their human forms drastically changed into disfigured deadly creatures. That’s the reason I’m here in the first place.”

“You went to the Trench?” asked Erin curiously.

Orm nodded slowly, everything coming back to him. How anger drove him to leave the kingdom carelessly as he ventured to the Trench, not adequately armed. The voices he heard, the desperate lost souls that needed help. _Were they the creatures?_ trapped into demonic forms or was he simply going insane by grief.

“I went there in search of my mother… but…” His eyes traveled to his bandaged stomach and the small scars on his bare arms. they still needed some time to disappear completely but he was already in the healing process. 

“The wounds…” Richard broke the silence, raising his finger and pointing at the young prince, ”They seemed unusual to me, did the monster attack you too?”

“It wasn’t just a monster,” Orm replied suddenly,” There are thousands, millions… who knows. They live in the darkness, even my eyes couldn't place them, and they attacked in hordes. “

“You didn’t find your mother… “Erin’s soft voice brought him back to the present. Orm didn’t know if it was because of the sadness buried inside of his own soul or something else, but the girl’s voice was also filled with a deeper pain, similar to his.

“No,” He answered simply before Richard’s voice echoed in his ears again.

“They definitely seemed fatal;” The old man scratched his stubble, gazing at the little scars. The young boy, recoiled under the man’s piercing gaze. He hugged himself vulnerably, the air was too dry for him and he felt thirstier than usual. The man, however, continued talking, “ I thought you were going to bleed to death but now they’re all healed, you can walk, your body is exceptionally more advanced than us, I wonder how fast your cells can divide—“

“Why was she there in the first place?” Erin’s small voice was strong enough to overpower her father’s ranting. Orm stared at her calm face, her eyes reminding him of Ocean... _home._

“My father…” Orm swallowed, his throat dry and scratchy, “King Orvax banished her.”

“But why?” Erin gasped in shock as Richard’s eyes started to shine with excitement, “You’re the son of Atlantis Ruler?” he asked.

No matter what his mother had said, Orm couldn’t really trust the surface-dwellers, he felt he had already revealed too much about himself unknowingly. That was why he turned to fully face Erin. Her eyes were filled with something heartwarming as she looked at him with genuine concern. “She broke Atlantis laws; she had … a son with a surface-dweller.”

Erin blinked, nodding her head knowingly but she was unable to offer anything. But Orm was a good observer. He could see something was wrong with her too,  _wondering if she had lost someone too._

“Another Atlantean in our world?” Richard’s voice stopped his train of thoughts, he leaned further on the table, “Do you know where he is?”

Orm looked at him through half-open lids as he wet his lips. The air in the room was too suffocating for him. “I …do not know.” He shrugged, too tired to even care about the formalities, he wasn’t a prince in this world anyway. “I don’t even know his name or what he looks like.”

“ _Shin_ needs to hear this, I gotta give him a call him.” Richard tried to straighten his shirt but to no avail as he started walking back to his bedroom “Please… please just don’t go anywhere?”

As the older man left, a rare kind of peacefulness engulfed the room. It felt as if minutes had passed as finally, into the silence came Erin’s tranquil voice. “I’m sorry...I… I’ve never seen my dad like this… he’s not like this, “She sighed, “ I…wanted to say that I understand. “ She admitted hesitantly, “About your mother…” She looked up and her eyes were red and watery, but he could see she was making an effort to keep it together, ”I… lost my mom too. I was only five when it happened, she was diagnosed with severe depression and she wasn’t taking her medicine, my dad realized that way too late … he was…he was always busy you know, an archeologist who studied ancient artifacts ...we were somewhere in the middle of Atlantic Ocean that night… traveling to Egypt …” She paused, sniffing. Orm had never comforted anyone before, he didn’t know what to do if she would break into tears, hopefully, it didn’t last long and as she looked up, biting her lips, she managed a bittersweet small smile, “She uh… she jumped into the ocean in the middle of the night. “

Orm couldn’t bring himself to say a word. He could only look at her. Her pain was evident. Orm could understand the way Erin was feeling. It was unbearable but true and he could see how she was trying to hide it just like himself.

 “I’m sorry…” he whispered but she was quick to wipe the unshed tears and sat straight. For a small surface-dweller girl, she was strong and in so many ways, she reminded him of Mera when she was trying to hide her weaknesses.

“My dad… believed that she was still alive,“

“But it isn’t true. The waves and water pressure crushes a human body and even if she somehow survived that your kind cannot breathe under the water.”

“I know, “ she deadpanned, “It’s the matter of believing you know, they never found my mom’s body and my dad assumed that perhaps she’s still alive, why ruin that if it calms the man that lost the one he truly loved. “ 

"But it isn't the truth," Orm said. 

“It doesn’t really hurt though, does it?” she asked, “He always believed in Atlantis all these years and here you are, a true Atlantean in flesh. I mean, sometimes we believe in crazy things but then something even crazier happens and we realize, we weren't really that wrong. I mean at this point if my mom turns out to be a mermaid alive and well under the city, I wouldn't be surprised," She let out a dry laugh but Orm could see even she couldn't believe what she was saying, " Maybe your mom is still alive too.”

That was too good to be true; “No, she’s gone,” Orm shook his head, feeling his voice trembling,"the sooner I accept it, the better I can move on!” He raised his voice unintentionally but it seemed to startle Erin a little. He didn’t intend to do that, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize either, "It's different from your father's belief in Atlantis... Atlantis isn't a fairy tale but what you're implying about your mother is..."

Erin didn’t reply, she just sat there and stared at him for a full minute before Maxine barged into the room, barking and jumping around excitedly. That was when a smile formed on her lips and as if on cue all the traces of sadness wiped from her face. How could a fragile little human like her contain her emotions so much better than him? Orm felt like he wanted to explode once again and here she was with a similar pain, kneeling calmly on the floor and patting her dog’s neck and ears.  

“Hey, girlie, what’s up?” She giggled as the dog let out a woof sound and pulled out its tongue and started wagging its tail.

Orm wanted to get closer and touch the fury creature too, perhaps even offer an apology but as suddenly Richard came out of the room with a look of pure excitement covering his expression, he froze, “Doctor Shin said, he’ll be here in a few hours.” He announced, then his eyes locked with Orms as he said calmly, ” He would love to meet you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm sorry for the filler-like chapter, right now I'm suffering from writer's block and I know how bad this chapter really was but I had to write it to get to the good parts... I hope. I figured Erin's dad in my story could be somewhat obsessed about Atlantis... that doesn't mean the guy is a bad person though, he was the one who actually patched Orm's wounds up... but we'll see what will happen next...
> 
> Also, I included doctor Shin, apparently he is a very important part of the comic, he was also in the movie. Remember the man on the news who ranted about Atlanteans being real... yeah... and in the after credit scene, he sorta teamed up with Black Manta to find Aquaman.... yeah... so that's that.
> 
> *sighs* I don't know what else to say other than I appreciate your comments and positive feedback. 
> 
> Thanks a lot for reading, 
> 
> Cheers,   
> ~Bella


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